


Seventeen Lives

by RedlaSunShowers029



Category: Kuinaki Sentaku | No Regrets, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: (sort of), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Angst, Enchanted Jewelry, F/M, Hunter!Farlan, M/M, More tags to be added, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pretty much every main character is a shapeshifter, Self-Sacrifice, Semi-Immortal characters, Thief!Isabel, initial memory loss
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-22
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-07-16 16:34:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7275658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedlaSunShowers029/pseuds/RedlaSunShowers029
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Many years had passed since the fateful events of the storm. With Isabel and Farlan assumed dead, Levi wanted to get one last chance to bring them back...</p>
<p>But when he made that wish, he didn't expect to gift them with seventeen chances. Seventeen chances, seventeen lives for them to find their way back to his side in a barren, difficult world to find a way in.</p>
<p>Seventeen chances should've been enough, but they were a lot easier to lose than it would've seemed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. From The Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, when you stumble across a familiar scent you just have to check and make sure.
> 
> Sometimes you're right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a world I've been trying to fill for a little while now, and figured I'd start by placing these guys in for the parts.

Just about the last thing she remembered was the being coming up at full speed. It wasn't like she had a chance; after all, with a pack of wolves already surrounding her, she didn't really have a place to think so. A ferret can only do so much with thy teeth and little claws, after all. But something about his expression told her it was different; other than seeming out of breath, it appeared as though something aside from speed and distance made it so. A single look into deep amber eyes reminded her of something she doesn't want to acknowledge, something she doesn't quite understand.

All that mattered was, no matter how familiar the creature was, it was still racing forth to kill her - to take another life from her.

If she'd had her knife, at least she would've been able to do some better damage; alas, animal forms only gave so much lenience with human instruments. She would've shifted back if she'd been able, though her pendant had fallen off and landed beside one of the wolves' paws. If they managed to put it around their own necks she would've been done for, though fortunately that was at least one thing that seemed unlikely.

Now if she could just reach forward and try to take it back...

A snap of salivating jaws told her she wasn't likely to snatch it back so easily, withdrawing her bloodied forepaw. It'd clearly been more of a mistake stealing meat from this pack; she'd only needed so much to sustain herself, though it'd been enough to rouse them from their positions and turn right around on her. Cocky as she was, she figured teasing them wouldn't be too hard - she'd dodged past plenty of predators in such a way, though arrogance seemed to have blinded her too deeply this time. It hadn't taken the pack long to claw her down from her escape route and encircle her.

And it wasn't like she looked like she'd get a second chance; after all, the lives she had left were kept in that pendant, and resurrection only occurred if it was around her neck at time of death. So far, it seemed like none of that was going to happen.

Scrabbling at the thick stone, she pondered whether trying to get away was even a possibility. Despite her lacking self judgement, it was obvious to her leaving the pendant behind would leave her mortal once more; besides, there was no telling what would happen if she tried - no doubt these beasts would just claws her down and tear her to pieces...

Eyeing the oncoming wolf hesitantly, she grasped the stone with her forepaws and waited, defeated, for the moment she'd be torn to pieces.

The wolf came blundering into the pack, its immense body towering over her, standing a head or two taller than the remainder of the pack. Silver fur stood on edge as it looked around the area, every muscle in their face expressing a lack of amusement - not like she could see it, she could just tell by their stance and presence.

In most cases, it would've amused her to see another predator trying to take fresh meat from a larger, scarier pack; this time, however, she knew her position too well to find any joy in it. The pack of wolves or this strange loner - it didn't matter, as she knew well where this was going to go.

_Back off - this one's mine._

The words echoed through her mind, and it seemed as though the other canids had gotten the message as well, though from what of his gaze she followed. It was obvious from the way he was speaking, through thoughts opposed to words, that there had been a connection before; trust formed bonds, and only with bonds did telepathy even open up as a possibility. So she'd known this wolf before, but for some reason she couldn't put a name to the figure just yet.

The other wolves backed up for a moment, seeming incredulous of this intruder. The way he stood right before her seemed to have gotten them to hesitate, though it seemed not for long enough.

"Now, if you could simply find another morsel to -"

His words were cut off by a whimper, his leg receiving a nasty bite from the assumed leader of the pack. He stumbled back, trying to maintain composure as he faced the canids once more.

"You know well as us you're out of bounds. And as does she," the canid gave a nod to the ferret distastefully. "If it comes down to it, I'll assure you claims to this territory will be made in blood -"

"I don't want your territory."

The wolves backed up, their expressions keeping the same dubiousness as before. They seemed to be letting up, though both wolf and ferret knew better than to acknowledge it as a backdown.

"Then what is this...?"

The loner bowed his head, obscuring the ferret from view. Every muscle in his body tensed, preparing for a fight.

"I think you know."

An agitated growl rose up in the leader's throat, and in an instant the pack was upon the loner. A paw full or claws targeted the being's throat, and he pulled back, panting and growling. A paw traced the cut, feeling several trickles of blood running down the cut; but even still, he wasn't backing down so easily.

"Give up already. It's seven against one. And it doesn't matter how many lives you've got left - if it comes down to that, I'll make sure to end each and every one."

The ferret looked up, curious as to what that meant. From the looks of it, the hulking feature before her was simply another wolf; even still, the mention of 'how many lives' made her assume there was a chance they'd met before. His scent was one she could recall, though from what she understood memories transferred over through the cycle. Was he someone from a life way way before she'd even gotten her pendant? The possibility of that was much higher.

But why was he fighting this battle? This could've easily costed him... Loners, no matter how skilled, were still overpowered by the strength of a pack. While it didn't seem to be stopping him, this was still fact - fact that even she understood, and she'd hardly lived a single life as a wolf herself. Though whatever kept him going seemed to be more apparent than before, defending his claim on her like it was all his life depended on.

The wolves attacked once more. Claws raked his muzzle. Scratches adorned his sides. Blood trickled down upon the ground, splattering her in heavy drops - but surprisingly, none of it seemed to be hers. It appeared that with the evident invasion of this loner, the pack had forgotten about her altogether and instead banded to make him pay.

Grunting and snarling, the canid wiped the fluid from himself with a reddened paw. He seemed to be weakening slightly, though it wasn't enough to make him back down. Instead, it seemed he was watching over the pack and her simultaneously, as though debating which move to make.

He turned his attention to her, and the polecat backed up a little more, scraping her back on the tough stone. In the dim light, she could see those amber eyes looking her over from above, simply watching, waiting. The hostility from his tussle with the pack faded in his gaze, though even still it looked like now wasn't the time for him to figure out the missing pieces of the puzzle.

_Sorry._

There it was again: that voice ringing in her head. Just from hearing him speak to the pack, she already knew it was his. The wolf gave a warning growl back at the pack, occasionally kicking them away or turning back to push them to the ground, though for the most part they seemed disturbingly intrigued by how he acted around her.

The wolf leaned down, his jaws reeking with fresh blood. He sniffed her once, his muzzle rolling her over onto her back. The ferret hardly moved, even when she felt his teeth on her back. But there was something strange about even that: she didn't find anything weird about being picked up in such a manner, aside from the fashion it was executed: it seemed as though he was being careful _not to_ harm her, what with the way he hardly tapped her with his teeth.

The small mammal still winced at the sharp, albeit clearly controlled, pressure on her back and sides, half wondering to herself why this fellow hadn't torn her to pieces yet. From what she was able to feel he'd simply grabbed ahold of her midsection with his jaws, sideways, leaving her able to feel her paws and worry less about being decapitated on the spot. But even still, she could still hear the growls of the wolves behind them, and feel a sudden jolt as the loner took off, maintaining just enough of a bite around her to keep her steady as he hightailed it out of the pack's territory.

"Let him go," the leader replied upon the wolves' cries of protest. "After all, it doesn't seem like he really poses much of a threat to us. We can hunt for better prey later, and if either one of them shows up again we can make sure to get them for it."

No one questioned from that point on. And the lone wolf, securing his claim, kept running onward.

\-------------------

The next time the ferret found herself, she was in a cave. Inky black stalactites hung above her, and a gentle pool of water swept across the way some distance from her. But aside from location, it was apparent that even more of her surroundings had changed: everything seemed larger again, more concrete.

Which could only really mean one thing.

Groaning, she willed herself to sit up. Aching a little, she grasped her side as the sharp pain sunk in. Her hand fumbled upon something metal. Looking down, she found her hand - so she had shifted back after all - resting on the end of a chain; pulling it up to her face to inspect it, the same pendant hung from it.

Judging by the blood on it, there was a likely chance the wolf had pulled it away at just the right moment - but what had he gone to all the trouble for? With another quick inspection of her condition, the blood on her arm and chest was still there, though it stained through several layers of white bandages (and from the sting's notability she could assume some sort of ointment as well), as though someone had taken the time to clean, treat and tend to her wounds.

What sort of person would even bother? When she'd been pulled away from the pack, the logical assumption was that the loner had scooped her up to make a meal of her himself; given her condition, form, and possession of her lives intact, however, there was no way this was the case. If he'd torn her to pieces a life would've been missing - but a single glance at the tick marks on the piece of jewelry held her with just as many as she'd had before.

In that case, the wolf had either been scared off and someone had come to treat her, or the canid really hadn't been intending to hurt her at any moment in time. Considering most people wouldn't venture into the domains of anything canine if they could help it (plus wolves and wolfbeasts kept some of the highest claims of land out of them all), the latter seemed, surprisingly, more likely.

She wasn't stupid, though: bandages would need more than paws to put on, meaning that there was definitely some sort of human business lurking around close by.

And there she spotted it.

A man she assumed around the age of twenty-five was only a little ways away from her - eyes closed and teeth gritted in pain, he seemed to be resting in an exhausted heap. Various cuts covered his skin, from the slightest scratch over his lip and on his arm to the more severe etched into his neck and chest. While she didn't see any cuts on his hands, they, too, were stained with what looked to be his own blood, and messy, silvery hair that flipped up at the ends seemed to have splatters here and there as well.

No signs of bandages, meaning that this man had either used them all up tending to her or was completely unrelated to the scene, a passerby who simply conked out.

She wanted a closer look but figured it was best to remain cautious, so the female reached for the knife she'd always kept on her belt and snuck forward - if this fellow thought he could do anything to her once he woke up, he had another thing coming.

\---

The man awoke with a knife to his throat. A pair of moderately uninterested gaze stared back at the person responsible, irked amber eyes meeting the cyan ones of his opposer.

"So you've figured it out, have you?"

He catches a glimpse of untamed auburn hair, tied at the ends into a pair of pigtails. The same look in her eyes is much harsher, much brighter than the ferret from a couple hours ago, which of course meant she was getting back her strength - good.

"The hell are ya?"

A single slip of her voice, and the familiarity returns. There's something like it that the man couldn't quite detect yet, though at the same time it was one he'd indeed heard before - and getting to truly see her face once more only confirmed that boding. 

Of course, at this moment, it wasn't a good time to think of these things; best to try and unravel that puzzle when every life he had wasn't at stake.

"I'd suggest putting down that knife if you want that answered," he replied with an unamused sigh. "Like any other sane person, I prefer not to answer such simple questions at knifepoint."

The girl hesitated a moment, though locked him in her hostile gaze once more lest the other human thought she'd accept any dirty tricks.

"What brings ya here, then?" The words drew out like a snarl. "An' I ain't letting up until ya drop yours."

"Fine then," the man grumbled, taking his own knife and flicking it to the side. "I by all means commend your caution this time around, but you might as well show a little less hostility. The only blood on my face is mine, after all - I laid claw nor tooth upon you in spite."

The marks on the man's face were in places all too similar to the wolf's wounds. It didn't take long for even the least inclined to judgement to fill in the rest for certain, especially when those same golden eyes held her captive like a predator lying in wait.

"Ya were there, weren't ya?" Hesitantly, the woman lowered the knife some, determining the threat was gone - she'd fallen unconscious from blood loss as it was for some time, so if he'd wanted to finish her off he would've done so much earlier.

"Yes, I was there," the man responded with a curt nod, heaving a sigh of relief once the weapon was removed from his person. He sat up and glanced at her, inspecting the soiled cloth around her cuts and gashes. "Sorry I... Couldn't quite heal you completely without, you know, stealing another life from you. I figured that you'd much prefer it if you got to keep this one for a while, especially with how hard you fought for it.

"Besides," he added, a hint of snark in his tone, "I figured you didn't enough to spare on something this pathetic."

A defensive sort of hostility flared up in the redhead's eyes once more.

"What - and yer so much better at this?"

"If I'm understanding right that you nearly lost not one, but all your lives by simply going up and stealing carrion from a hungry pack of wolves, I'd damn right say I _am_ better at this, yes," the man replied in a matter-of-fact tone. He reached down absently for his own pendant, wiping some of the bloody smears from the surface. The woman found the inscribed image in her line of sight and looked at it: wolf - sure enough.

"I have eleven lives left to live, because clearly unlike you I treat every one like it's really my last," the man replied, the beginnings of a near-challenging smirk on his face. "But what about you? Three, five?"

"Seven," the girl hissed under her breath, rolling her eyes. "And ya ain't gonna see me gettin' all high n' mighty on my own lifestyle, so I dunno why you're doing so yerself."

"If you ask me, if sounds less like a lifestyle and more of a deathstyle." The words hardly surpassed his lips, though she caught every word of them.

"If yer so bothered by it, then why'd ya even pull me away from the pack? I'm surprised someone who acts so high-'n-mighty on the semi-immortality chain would even bother with a lil thing like me."

The man stopped in his tracks, redirecting his attention to answer the question. Now that he was human, her scent was gone, but there was still that same warmth in his chest the moment he saw her. She might've been just a little flame in the darkness, a woman who seemed just shy of nineteen with her vest lined with bloodied bandages and her body bruised and beaten, but that face, that voice - they connected so clearly in his mind, but to what?

"I thought I'd seen you before," he admitted, sweeping a hand over his hair to brush off the sweat, "but I can't remember when or where. I would've assumed that I'd remember you a bit more clearly than this by now, but apparently not; I'm assuming my memories aren't transferring over as well as they should - maybe my pendant's jammed or something, I dunno."

The girl blinked, looking him over as well: yes, between the silver hair, gold eyes and same collected demeanor the same problem was going through her head - not as though she'd admit it.

"Do you remember what happened before we got our pendants, by any chance? Back when we were mortal?"

The look in those amber eyes was a little shocking, like an image from a dream - he seemed like he was contemplating everything, yet answering nothing. The pendant still hung loosely from his neck, under his bloodied collared shirt, and that's when a dreadful, detached memory came to her mind.

"I remember rain," she replied, gritting her teeth, "and somethin' happened back there. Somethin' came in the rain searchin' fer blood an'..."

The man's face brightened slightly even in spite of the grim possibilities. "... Yes?"

"I dunno what else happened, that's all I 'member," the redhead replied, absently running a hand through her tangled pigtails. "It's a start, though, I guess."

"Least the feeling's mutual," the man replied, giving a slight shake of the head. "Hopefully we don't run into any bad rainstorms, then, if that's what took our mortal lives."

"But wouldn't dyin' mortal just wiped us out...?"

"You know how these work, don't you?" Stumbling to his feet, the man held his pendant out as though he intended to use it as a demonstration. "Obviously, you know how to flip it, given the fact your animal form seems well-used. But I would've expected you'd remember the rest: a mortal is only mortal if they have no possession of one of these. We're given seventeen lives from there on out, as the life of a mortal doesn't count."

"Yah, I know that, but do ya think you an' I found them there pendants before that all happened...?"

"Maybe," the man replied, recollecting his thoughts. "Considering the fact we're still alive, still have tick marks on these things to tell us how many lives we've got left, then I'm guessing the answer to that is a yes."

"What sorta sucker would bother? It ain't like either of us really seem like the type people are gonna bust their asses for," the redhead replied with a a bit of a lilt. "I mean, it ain't like some semi-immortal would've just cut themselves open to let us live."

"Blood sacrifice is only needed for training pendants, now - the ones that give no extra lives but allow the same shapeshifting mechanic. What I'm saying is that we must've stumbled across these, or worn them at that point in time without knowing." The man quirked an eyebrow. "... Didn't you used to have a necklace or something?"

"Yah. That don't explain yer situation though, cause I have a feeling ya didn't."

"I think you're right. Either way, though, least that's progress..."

The redhead gave a smirk. "Ya don't really remember much, do ya?"

"Not particularly. But I do know one thing..."

"Yeah?"

"You need to quit wasting your lives on foolish matters; it's not worth your time, and more importantly not worth your blood."

The woman across from him rolled her eyes.

"Oh yah? What makes you think I would?"

"You've already lost ten lives, right?" The man twisted the chain around his neck. "If we became semi-immortal at the same time, that's concerning."

"Fine then. Ah'll be more careful this go-around. But what made you so sure I ain't gonna be otherwise?"

The moment she'd spoken once more, he'd already determined this was the way things had always been between them - between mild argumentation after some initial hostility, they'd grown close despite their differences. They'd fight some, but they'd always managed to smooth things out. And every once in a while he acknowledged the faintest of memories - ones that only became tangible for a moment.

"You aren't careful, Isabel," he replied, her name rolling off his tongue as though he'd known it all his life. "You aren't, and if there's one thing I remember for certain it's that you never have been."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the pendant-shifting bits are a little confusing right now, but I assure you they'll become easier to understand with a bit of time.


	2. Perpetual Pursuit

He'd always been chasing after them.

Hardy paws scraped the ground, heavy at the touch of yet another expanse of cave grounds. His vision was blurry, blue eyes getting duller and duller with time until nearly no light seeped into their crevices, greyed with loss and a desire far from fulfilled.

Their scent was the only thing he followed, day and night, waiting for a sign, some time they'd finally come into view. But it seemed this time was naught, for every time he managed to catch a glimpse of them they were gone in a flash.

Was this really how things had to be? Back as humans, they were a band, a team, a family. They were the only ones he knew he could rely on, and the only ones that the creature knew that could let him in. When the world made him its enemy, he knew he could carry on with them by his side, but seeing them run on - running _from_ him, like he was some savage beast with nothing to be desired, was enough to shatter his heart into a thousand pieces.

And the worst bit was he couldn't quite blame them. Once he'd gotten close enough to her, not too long into his second life and her seventh, and had in fear of losing her again lunged to grab her, to protect her again, though had forgotten to keep his claws tucked away. A single scratch was all it took to truly make her fear him, and it was then it appeared his fate was sealed. So since that moment, he promised that as long as there was a sleek, silky pelt on his shoulders and a scent to follow, the panther would follow it, and explain to them what he was truly after once and for all.

It took time and effort to figure out which of theirs to follow; a couple paces in the wolf’s direction, then turn around to follow the ferret’s. He knew it was them due to the familiarity in their scents, the way they walked, the hope that resonated around them both. But now there was no need to choose; the pair had seemed, by the tracks he diligently followed, by the scent he picked up, they had both united and begun to travel along as a single team unit. Though even still it was clear that it would be time until they finally met up as the trio they once were. It would be a hard fight, but he was willing to wait it out, even if it drained the remainder of his lives.

He halted in his tracks, claws tracing like fingers over the emblem dangling around his neck. Three lives had passed since he'd first been introduced into the purgatorial place that was the caverns they roamed, since he'd taken up the task to find them again in this seemingly endless afterlife. He held it up to his face, looking at the insignia on the pendant - still the same man he was since then, but much less confident since then. He knew how this story was supposed to end, in the rain, with their gouged bodies resting beside and within the gigantic beasts all of humanity most feared. Though even still, the story had been changed; he'd triggered something he couldn't begin to explain that dreadful day, and since they were still out there, he was damned well going to get them back.

His steps began to grow faint, his mind muddled. Damn it, what the hell was he doing? Wasting every life, trying to get back a dream that was long gone and dead? It seemed like it at times, and it made his pausing into a complete halt. His heart ached to acknowledge it, knowing that at times he was hardly stopping for sustenance depending on how strong the desire kindled within him. No, he wasn't the same as before. When he'd fallen in after them, he was a different person; full of hope to find his family, satisfied with the self preservation he had, sane even in spite of it all. But isolation had worn his poor nerves thin, and time and time again he found himself pondering the same question over and over again:

Was he really that desperate?

The cries came before he could suppress them - like always, they seemed to rise up and take over his mind until his voice ran harsh against the pale brown stone, echoing deeply to fill the space with hollering. They were close, he could feel it, in the way he always did. But where they resided was a mystery to him, their scents faded, their responses nonexistent.

“Isabel!”

The cry fell on deaf ears, the sound hardly carrying to her actual location. The only thing it hit was the stone, which did nothing it redirect the sound at him until the sound of his own voice nearly drove him deaf.

“Farlan!”

Yet again not a single voice punctured through the night, and the yowling only centered around his exact location. Defeated for the time being, he settled down in a corner, heart pounding with disbelief. They were there… And yet, just too far out of his reach. He knew the time would come, but when? And how much more of this would he have to endure? His legs fell from underneath him, body landing with a soft, uncomfortably thud against the material. Stone, that was all there was in this world, wasn't there? It almost seemed the endless expanse didn't want him to keep going, and knew that someday he would die for good within the dark, unforgiving place. But would it be alone after all?

He damn sure hoped not. He only stood then when the sound of other footsteps followed - ones that weren't theirs, but yet another person’s he couldn't distinguish, their familiarity much like acid on encountering. That was the other thing; now and then he'd get the sense he was being watched and followed himself, though for much less benign reasons than what he had planned out when he finally caught up to his companions. One thing was for sure: be it to find those two or to evade the uncomfortable being lurking somewhere behind him, he had to move.

Heavy paws picked up the pace where he'd left off, his strides deep and long, full of the purpose he once had. Every day like this was impossible, and the only thing that pushed him on was the exact same thought, that repeated over and over in his head:

Someday, come hell or high water, he would reunite with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I swear I'm not dead, I just didn't have inspiration recently. But since I just got some, here's another chapter.
> 
> To anyone wondering, yes, the panther is Levi.
> 
> Yes, I realize this chapter is a big out of his character. That was intentional, as was the repetition aspect to the chapter.
> 
> You'll definitely see more of him later on. I figured it really wasn't the Thug Trio without him, so I made sure he was involved... In the most dramatic way I could, apparently.
> 
> Anyways, hope you guys enjoy!


End file.
